Guys—the Passion and Resurrection change everything. Here’s one way. When Jesus was crucified, He paved the way from the suffering, sin, and death of this life into the Kingdom of God. He became the way for all of us to follow Him into the light. In addition, He gave all of the pain we experience in our human existence new meaning and purpose.

“How?” you may ask.

As we know, Jesus lived a human life in every way except sin. Even though He lived 2,000-some years ago, the basics of human experience haven’t changed that much. This means that he felt every discomfort that we feel today—awkwardness, humiliation, guilt, worry, hunger, loneliness, rejection, fear, grief, hang nails, sunburn…you get it. Everything that we feel as sinners, he felt as our sinless savior. The fact that Jesus entered into humanity, not only in physical form but also emotionally and psychologically, gives the suffering that we experience today new meaning. Instead of pain meaning something that we want to avoid at all costs, it can mean something that makes us more like Christ. In Colossians 1:24, Paul says,Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.Here, Paul is expressing joy in his sufferings (aka LOTS of persecution because of his faith). He says that his joy comes from the realization that when he offers up his persecutions and afflictions to God, he becomes a partner in Christ’s work on the Cross. Paul’s suffering took on a new meaning—it became a unique way for him to be part of God’s Kingdom.

In this verse, Paul also describes his suffering’s new purpose as a way to defend Christianity and to draw others closer to Jesus. Our challenges today can take on those same purposes. When we offer up our sadness and pain to God, not only do we grow in unity to Jesus but we also become a powerful witness for Christianity. Imagine if your Facebook news feed didn’t contain status updates like, “This job is sucking the life out of me…arrrg” or “My sister couldn’t be more annoying,” but instead included sentiments like, “I wonder what God is teaching me through this frustrating work experience…Thank You for all the ways You lead me!,” or “Thank You, Jesus, for Your example of patience and humility; I certainly need it today!” When we rejoice and point to God instead of living in self-pity when we suffer, we are emulating Jesus!The most powerful image of this way of suffering is Jesus’ death on the Cross. When Jesus was crucified, He wasn’t numb to the pain of the nails in His hands and feet; He wasn’t immune to the feeling of suffocation on the cross; He thirsted while hanging in the burning sun. Even through his dying process, Jesus did not curse those who killed Him—He forgave them. He even brought one of the sinners dying next to Him into Paradise that day. If we choose to suffer this way each day, we will become more and more like Jesus.But, the journey didn’t end on the Cross for Jesus. After He lived a fully human, fully divine life, Jesus was resurrected from the dead! Obviously, this is GREAT news for us. Jesus’ Resurrection provides us with hope that our human suffering is not in vain and will one day cease. It also means that we can now have a personal relationship with Him, and He can walk with us through our lives. Who better to teach us how to live (and suffer!) in a way that glorifies the Lord than Jesus? After all, He has experiencesd it all and lived it perfectly.